Germany’s failing governing coalition is led by the most unpopular Chancellor of this century, Olaf Scholz.
And just when we thought that this government couldn’t get any worse, it turns out it could – and much worse.
It was just 3 years ago when Germany decided to reform and strengthen Section 184b of the Criminal Code: then Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht oversaw the change that changed ‘the distribution, acquisition and possession of child pornographic content’ from a misdemeanor to a crime.
Now, there is a real risk of a year-long prison sentence.
But not for long, it seems.
Lambrecht’s successor as Justice Minister, Marco Buschmann, wants to downgrade the offense to a misdemeanor again – and they are doing it with unconvincing justifications.
BILD reported:
“A corresponding draft law is to be passed by the cabinet: The minimum sentence will then be significantly less than one year in prison (the maximum sentence remains of up to ten years). The FDP man is thus responding to practical demands.
Lawyers, public prosecutors and judges complain that the tightening is unrealistic. Because: The judiciary complains that it has to increasingly investigate parents or teachers who find relevant material on children’s cell phones and forward it to the police.”
Judges complain that they have to pursue cases that don’t belong in the criminal courts.
“Bavaria’s Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (53, CSU) explains to BILD: ‘We want to prosecute child molesters, not parents who warn other parents about child pornography’.”
Reporters from the German paper BILD decided to ask the Federal Ministry of Justice: ‘In how many cases were parents or teachers actually investigated?’
The numbers are not available.
“There is criticism of the defusing. Rainer Becker, honorary chairman of German Children’s Aid, says: ‘What the Federal Minister of Justice has planned is a real hammer. His view is extremely friendly to perpetrators – that makes me very concerned’.”
Buschmann is not even alone in his regrettable stance. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has also spoken out ‘in favour of toning down legislation governing sexual offences in Germany’.
Star Connect Media reported:
“’Tightened penalties have led to youths facing harsh charges if they share nude images with each other’, Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Friday.
‘It is more important to create awareness about the risks of sharing such private matters than to proceed with harsh criminal charges’, Faeser asserted.
She said it is about priorities in this matter. ‘The authorities would have the time and space to fight the actually bad offences happening’. Justice ministers at the federal and state levels are currently discussing potential changes.”
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